40-41 Schwinn D97X Build. :Now In Working Order:

No sence in blowing up the Fresh Finds forum with my updates, so ill post my progress here.

I got this bike last weekend from a very cool guy that lives in my area. I got alot of help figuring out what model, year, What parts were OG, and not OG from some guys here. Special thanks to B607, UdallCustomBikes, Ohdeebee, for helping me. You guys are awesome!
The Original color is red I believe, based on the paint inside the head tube, and bottom bracket. I also belive that it had some kind of creme color that goes from the head tube, back. But on the fork, there is what looks to be original blue paint on the steer tube. Then it someone painted the rest of the frame blue to match the fork. Then someone painted the whole thing black. Then nature took its course and now its mostly surface rust.
Wheels need total rebuilding, and all the spokes need to be replaced.
Chain guard is Wald Aftermarket one.
It has a clamp on kick stand, and not the other kind.
The rear hub is a New Departure Model D
The front hub says "New Departure-W"
I don't think the rims are OG, since I can't find any markings.
Stem, seat, chain ring aren't OG.... Etc...

chain tension-er screws are nice and loose
a little bit of OG paint
Clamp on kick stand
This is the only markings on the seat.
one of the caps are gone

It also came with 2 tires and tubes-
Cordovan(?) tube and tire
Are these OK to throw away? or does anyone want them for some reason? If someone wants them, You can have them.

The 2nd one is a Schwinn Typhoon Cord tire in better shape. No tears, rips etc., just cracking in some places.
http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr113/ghopher0/photo3-10.jpg[/img
[img]http://i475.photobucket.com/albums/rr113/ghopher0/photo4-9.jpg

And one good Carlisle(?) tube.

Started to take it apart and clean everything-
This thing is pretty nasty
BB Bearings- Before and after

The seat say supports, and chain stay supports are a bit messed up
Is that normal?

I should be pulling the fork soon whenever I have some free time.
I also sold my Ross mountain bike, so it should help a bit in getting some parts!
I have never messed with old Schwinn bikes before, so it's a learning experience for sure. But so far, everything's good, and i'm enjoying it a lot.

As you can see from the pictures, there has been an excessive amount of WD40 sprayed on by the PO. It does not seem like it is going away at all, and doesn't look right.
Has anyone else experienced this before, and have any advice on how to get it off? I tried to wipe a small spot down with a damp rag, and it did nothing. Maybe just go out in the back yard and spray it down with the hose and some soap?

Spray the rest with yet mor WD40. It will fade off eventually.
Great bike.
Id' just leave it like it is.
You can replace that bearing 9 ball cage with 11 steel balls. It's much more reliable, since many of those cages do not last long (chinese stuff..). Place them with grease.
Keep it up

Thank you for those pictures Bendix, those help a lot!
Do you have any more pictures of that fork? What's the difference between a prewar fork and a postwar fork?

Click to expand...

i'll take some, obviously i took that one for the paint detail... :wink:

if i understand correctly the prewar ones (with and w/out the brace) have a brazed crown/leg assembly. the later froks are the one piece 'ashtabula' type where the crown and legs are one big, bent piece of metal with just the steerer tube brazed on.

The spokes are being a pain. Most of the nipples are stuck to the spokes, and they kept breaking. So I figured if they are all trashed, why try to save them? So I cut most if the spokes in the middle, trashed the side with out the nipples, and I will be soaking the ends with the nipples in PB-Blaster in order to save the nipples hopefully soon.

Next on the list is to clean up the hubs as good as possible, and re-lace the rims with the new spokes.
Progress has been slow because of this :